Twin Rivers Ranch, in the beautiful wine country of central California, is the scene of the upcoming Area VI Adult Team Challenge (ATC) taking place from April 9-12. This year, more than 30 teams are packing up from all Areas of the west coast to travel to Twin Rivers, join the fun and compete for best team honors.
The ATC is a team event open to all adult riders, professionals included, over the age of 21. Teams are made up of three or four riders, all at the same level. Each team can have one professional rider as long as that rider has not completed an event at two levels higher than their ATC team level in the past two years. So far, there are 6 Beginner Novice teams, 8 Novice Teams, 12 Training Teams and 7 Preliminary Teams entered in the ATC, with more coming in.
Twin Rivers was chosen for the site of this event because of the high quality of courses and competition that this venue provides, and because it is in a central location on the west coast. This allows riders from as far away as Southern California and even Washington to make the trip. The Baxter family, owners and organizers, always provide a great event with excellent organization, outstanding footing and challenging cross-country courses for all levels.
This year, Area VI Adult Riders will be providing some special prizes for winning teams: embroidered coolers for all winners, along with gift certificates for merchandise from Devoucoux, and bottles of APF Pro from Auburn Labs. We can't thank Devoucoux and Auburn Labs enough for their support of the ATC. And, so that our 1* adult riders are not left out, the Adult Rider program is sponsoring special awards for first, second and third best scores for adult amateurs contesting the 1* CCI. Ride On Video, an avid supporter of the Area VI Adult Riders, will be providing a special prize for the best score at this level.
Area VI is proud to support this adult rider competition to call attention to the important role that all adult riders play in our sport. Many adult riders are already highly accomplished in their fields - whether it’s law, medicine, engineering, business, sales, information systems, teaching, as well as being active parents or caregivers in many cases. In addition, they've taken on a difficult and demanding equestrian sport. We salute them and their drive to excel! Adult riders, without you, eventing would not be the same...thank you for your support!
A few months ago we began a series of Pressure Proof tips dedicated to the many different choices we have when thinking about our riding potential. We labeled these choices mindsets and discovered that some lead us towards growth, grit, and gratitude while others lead us in the opposite direction, towards feeling disappointed, defeated, and discouraged.
Spring and summer are on the horizon. As rider’s calendars begin to fill with horse trial, clinic, and schooling outing dates, organizing teams are busy with preparations to ensure smooth operations and a great experience for participants, horses, and spectators.
The United States Equestrian Federation (USEF)/US Equestrian has announced the appointment of former USEF Eventing Development Coach Leslie Law to the position of Chef d’Equipe and High Performance Manager for the Defender U.S. Eventing Team, and Karyn Shuter, who will take on the newly developed role of U.S. Eventing High Performance Advisor. Both Law and Shuter will begin in their respective roles immediately.
Last year was a big one for USEA Young Event Horse program graduate Arden Augustus. He made a successful move-up to Modified with Sharon White in the tack, followed by a smooth transition to Preliminary, then went on to win two CCI2*-S divisions and ended the year with a CCI2*-L win.